


Hard Blow

by tacendaparker16



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Avenger Peter Parker, Avengers Family, Avengers Movie Night, Avengers Tower, Fix-It of Sorts, Hurt Peter Parker, Injured Peter Parker, Major Character Injury, Medical Inaccuracies, Movie Night, Peter Parker Has Issues, Peter Parker Has a Bad Day, Peter Parker Has a Family, Peter Parker Lives in Avengers Tower, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Peter Parker is Trying His Best, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker is a Mess, Poison, Poisoning, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Avengers, Protective Tony Stark, Sickfic, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27577903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacendaparker16/pseuds/tacendaparker16
Summary: Peter Parker is hit with a blast from some strange alien tech weapons while out on patrol, but tries to hide the fact that he feels like crap. However, when his condition quickly worsens as his night at Avengers Tower progresses, he can no longer hide the truth of his condition. Well, that is, not after he's unconscious. Will the Avengers be able to save their little spider-ling before his time runs out?
Comments: 8
Kudos: 101





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: this one is pretty long, so it might be split into 3 (or so) parts. Podfic welcome. Enjoy!

Peter walked into Avengers Tower completely exhausted. He felt so glad to finally be done with patrol, especially since it was Friday. He entered the building, still in his Spider-Man suit, and passed by security without a problem. ‘huh,’ he wondered to himself, ‘it’s still so weird how I still need my badge when I’m Peter, but not when I’m Spidey. I’m starting to like this superhero treatment.’   
As he passed by the front desk he said hi to Emily, the nice girl in her college years who had taken up an internship at SI the year prior, around the same time as Peter’s ‘internship’ became a real one with Mr. Stark himself. Her and Peter had become fast friends after starting up conversations in the break room one day, and their friendship had progressed quickly from there. Now, she was the closest thing he had to a sister (well, besides Wanda, of course).  
Emily also happened to be one of the few people who knew about his alter-ego, Spider-Man. She would often times patch him up after patrols if he got injured and didn’t want to bother Mr. Stark or Dr. Banner, and she would clean his suits for him sometimes as well. Emily was even so close to him that Peter opened up to about his troubles, which come unsurprisingly often when you’re an orphaned genius teenager with super strength and enhanced senses leading a double life. The only other people he trusted enough to confide in were Ned, MJ, Wanda, Auntie Nat and, of course, Aunt May.   
As he made his way to the private elevator, Peter noticed Happy walking briskly over to a group of interns. ‘Most likely to reprimand them on not wearing their badges,’ he thought to himself. Peter chuckled as he pressed the button to the elevator, thankful his mask was still on so Happy didn’t catch him giggling.   
“Hello, Peter, welcome home,” a voice rang suddenly throughout the elevator. “Hey, FRI, glad to be back!” Peter said excitedly. He hadn’t been to spend the night in the tower for a week, as he usually stays with his Aunt May during the weekdays, only coming to his second home with Tony, Pepper, and the rest of the Avengers on the weekends. This time, however, Peter got to stay the week as well, as his aunt was going on an important business trip to Nevada. Ever since Tony had offered her a job at Stark Industries, she has been traveling a lot more often, leaving Peter to stay with the rest of the team.   
“So, uh, what’s for dinner tonight?” Peter asked the AI, looking up to the ceiling curiously. “Sargent Barnes has made lasagna, but boss advises against eating it for fear of food poisoning,” FRIDAY’s voice rang out. Peter chuckled to himself, remembering the time when Bucky had accidentally poisoned the entire team after using a dish that hadn’t been washed properly, and had still had some dish soap residue on it. Bucky blamed it on DUM-E, but everyone knew that he was the one who had washed the dishes the night before.   
As the elevator neared the top floor, Peter began to bounce excitedly on his toes, knowing full well that tonight was movie night. After what seemed like forever, the elevator finally dinged, and the sliding doors opened to reveal the penthouse.   
It was so hectic inside; Peter just couldn’t miss his opportunity. He carefully put one hand up on the ceiling before sticking to it, then pulled himself up with his remaining weight. He scaled across the tall ceiling as quietly as possible, eyes focused on his target. “he’ll never see this coming,” he chuckled to himself, engaged and ready to carry out his plot of attack.   
As he reached closer to Tony, his breath became shallow, as he was trying to be as silent as possible. This had no effect on him, however; Last time he had tested it at the pool with Ned, Peter was able to hold his breath for a record time of ten minutes and thirty-seven seconds. So, needless to say, Peter wasn’t worried about losing any breath here.   
He knew Nat had noticed him, as he saw the corners of her lips curl into a smile in his peripheral vision, but he didn’t care. Peter knew that she wouldn’t rat him out. He carefully whispered to his AI, “KAREN, tell FRIDAY to take a video of this. I have a feeling it’ll be good.”  
“Right away, Peter,” the female voice rang out through his mask. ‘perfect,’ Peter thought to himself.  
He now sat perched on the ceiling just above Mr. Stark, who was sipping his cup of coffee, completely unaware of what was about to unravel. Just then, Peter quickly lowered himself to face the billionaire, now standing upright on the ceiling, quickly ripping his mask off as he did so. “Hey, Mr. Stark!” Peter said loudly, excitement prominent in his peppy voice.   
Peter didn’t think he’d ever seen his mentor scream so loudly. The genius shrieked, so startled that he jumped back, falling off his chair and spilling his coffee all over himself as he did so.   
“Haha, I so got you that time!” Peter shrieked, now laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath. However, he couldn’t quite catch his footing, either, because as he laughed he forgot to keep his grip on the ceiling and fell to the floor with aloud crash.   
Now it was Mr. Stark’s turn to laugh; his eyes started to swell up with tears at the sight of his so- no, intern, Tony thought to himself, on the floor in the position he was in. Peter laid there frozen for a moment, before he, too, started laughing. Soon, the rest of the Avengers joined in, knowing now that it was okay to laugh since their precious Spider-Baby was alright. Natasha walked over, extending a hand in an offering to help her ребенок паук up.   
“Hey, what about me?” the billionaire said in what Peter hoped was mock offense. “Sorry, I only help the ones I like,” Natasha said with a fake pout. Peter couldn’t help but laugh at this, earning a wide smile from the ex-assassin.   
“Hear that, Mr. Stark? I’m the new favorite.” Peter said triumphantly, a wide and proud, mocking grin on his face. “You say that like Tony ever was,” a voice piped up in the background, and Peter turned around in curiosity to see who the voice belonged to. When he saw the two figured standing at the door, Peter’s grin only widened even more. “Uncle Rhodey! Your back! How was the mission?” Peter asked excitedly, rushing over to the decorated war hero.   
“Hey, what about me, bug boy?” The man next to Rhodey asked, clearly jealous. “Hey, Uncle Sam, don’t worry, I love you too. So, how’d it go? I wanna know all about it!” At this, Sam couldn’t help but grin. He could never stay upset at his nephew for too long, even if he was just playing around.   
“It was good, we made it to the abandoned warehouse in record time, and from there it got even easier. Some men claiming to be ‘restarting HYDRA’ or something like that, but they were really just a couple of ex-cons that got their hands on a history book and wanted to find out the ‘power of HYDRA’ for themselves. Couple of idiots is what they were,” Sam said, pride lacing his voice, with a slight chuckle at the end of his little story. Rhodey chuckled as well, as Peter guessed that he remembered the recent events he and his partner had faced.   
Rhodey eyed Peter, noticing the vibrant red-and-blue suit he was still wearing. “Oh, did you just get back from patrol?” He asked as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He grabbed a couple extras as well, before throwing one to Peter, who caught it with ease. Rhodey handed the other bottle to Sam, who took it gratefully and immediately began gulping down the cool, fresh liquid.   
“Yeah, I did, actually,” Peter said, sighing as he did so.   
“Nice, how’d it go?” Sam asked casually, expecting the usual report. That, however, is not what he got.   
“Well, remember that Vulture guy and the weapons he had?” Peter said, his smile now fading. (He visibly shook, the mere thought of the man bringing back memories he would much rather forget. He hoped the others didn’t notice, though; he didn’t want to appear weak.) Everyone nodded slowly in agreement, curious to hear what would come next. Peter even thought he heard Natasha crack her knuckles briefly, ready to kick Toomes’ ass at the mere mention of his name. No one hurts her ребенок паук.   
“Well, even though I took him down, some of those weird high-tech alien weapons are still floating around, so I’ve been trying to track them all. But one guy didn’t wanna give his up, and he put up a real fight. Of course, this would’ve been easy for me, but it was at the edge of an alley way and the man grabbed a young woman as a hostage in an attempt to prevent me from coming near him. I eventually got her to safety,” Peter said, caution practically dripping from his voice. He hoped he wouldn’t have to continue, but his family knew better. They knew there was more to the story. “…But?” Steve asked cautiously, waiting to hear more, just like the rest of the team. Peter sighed before continuing. “But, I got hit with one.” Peter could barely get the last word of the sentence out before several shouts were heard all at once. “You what?! Are you okay??” multiple people shouted. It all began to become too much for Peter’s enhanced hearing, and he cupped his hands over his ears while crouching down, signaling for them to quiet down. “Sorry,” several whispers were heard saying. Peter eventually stood upright again and removed his hands from his ears when things quieted down, before continuing the story and assuring everyone that he was alright. “I’m fine, I’m fine, really. Don’t worry, I had Karen do a quick scan of me and she said I wasn’t harmed. My healing factor must have absorbed the hit instead of me. It wasn’t like a bullet or anything, It was actually kind of like this blue blast of light. It was so weird,” Peter said before finishing his water in a matter of seconds.   
“You’re sure you’re alright? That doesn’t sound like a light blow,” Steve said, his face now an expression of concern. “Yeah, it’s all good. I mean, I feel fine, I’m still just giving myself a headache trying to find out where they keep storing these weapons,” Peter said in a tone of defeat. He threw his hands up in the air before walking over to the island counter, jumping up into a barstool chair and resting his elbows on the countertop. Tony patted him on the back sympathetically before getting up and walking over to help Bruce set the table. Sam and Rhodey picked up their mission bags before exiting the large living space, most likely going up to their rooms to shower and get changed into some comfier clothes… suits aren’t exactly ideal for loungewear, Peter thought to himself. He got up and went over to help set the table as well, walking stiffly as he was still sore from being tossed around earlier that night.   
==========  
Peter sat in between Auntie Nat and Uncle Bucky at the dinner table, devouring his food quickly. The lasagna actually turned out to be quite delicious. Yet again, anything is good when you have a super fast metabolism. Peter was just reaching over to grab another piece of bread when Natasha spoke up, “Jeez, kid, even Steve doesn’t eat like you. You must’ve really worked hard today,” she said in a quipping tone. “Yeah, well Uncle Steve can’t lift as much as I can, either. Catch up, old man,” Peter joked. Bucky nearly choked on his lasagna from laughing so hard, and Tony spat out his drink. Steve put his hand to his chest and gasped in mock offense, before he, too, started chuckling. Natasha had a hard time composing herself again, as she could barely catch her breath from laughing so hard.   
==========  
Once everyone had finally calmed down, they continued eating in a comfortable silence. Eventually, Tony spoke up, ranting about a recent call he’d gotten from Fury; Peter, however, wasn’t listening. Instead, he was staring down at his plate, forkful of food in hand and hovering over his dish, completely zoned out to the conversations around him. He felt this strange pounding sensation in his head, and the front of his shoulder seemed to be even more sore than it was earlier. Peter tried to shake the feeling off, as he was probably just tired after a long day. But before he could regain his composure, Bucky spoke up from his right. “Hey, you okay, bud? You look like crap,” Bucky said, concern lacing his voice. “Yeah, I’m just super tired. Long day, I guess,” Peter said, faking a smile and finally shaking the feeling off. He resumed eating and took his plate over to the sink and rinsed it when he was done.  
==========  
It took them ages to find a movie; finally, the team of heroes had decided on “Tangled”. It was ironic, as just before the movie started, a loud crack of thunder was heard outside. The team looked out the window to find the God of Thunder himself, standing in the middle of the front lawn, surrounded by a large circle of Asgardian design burnt into the grass. “God, he really doesn’t have any regard for lawn care, does he?” Tony said, shaking his head in disappointment. They watched as Thor made his way over to the entrance of the building, Mjolnir in hand, surprising the security guards as he walked inside.   
==========  
It didn’t take long for Thor to reach the top of the tower, and he definitely made himself known when he did. As soon as the god laid his eyes on Peter, his face lit up. “AHH, BOY OF SPIDERS!! HOW GOOD THAT YOU ARE HERE AS WELL!! HOW HAVE YOU BEEN, HOW IS MIDGARD?!” Thor boomed, causing Peter to wince in pain. Thor seemed to notice, and so did everyone else, because the entire team shooshed the god sharply while Thor flashed a sheepish expression. “Sorry,” he whispered, clearly apologetic. Peter assured him that all was okay, then told him about their plan to watch a movie. “…so, now we were just sitting down to watch Tangled. It’s a Disney movie, remember?” Peter said, trying to keep Thor up to date on Midgardian films. Thor nodded in agreement, before grabbing a box of Pop Tarts and plopping down on the couch, ruffling Peter’s hair as he walked past.   
==========  
The team settled in, Peter nestled comfortably in between Steve and Tony; Bucky sat in the corner of the L-shaped couch, while Natasha and Clint fought over a blanket for the little pillow fort they had made. Bruce sat comfortably near the end of the couch, arm outstretched at his side, resting on the back of the couch cushions. Once everyone was settled in, FRIDAY started the movie.   
==========  
The group sat there for a while in a comfortable silence, everyone contently watching the film. Peter, however, was far from well. By now, he had rested on Tony’s chest, completely unaware that he had slowly done so. He could hear the soft humming of the arc reactor, and it seemed to instantly calm his nerves. However, his shoulder continued to throb, even more so now that dinner was over. His head began throbbing in pain again, and he suddenly felt completely exhausted. It was almost as if all the energy had been drained from him in an instant. Peter struggled to keep his eyes open, but after what seemed like ages of struggling, he finally succumbed to the darkness, letting it take him away into a deep, yet uneasy sleep.   
==========  
// Nobody’s POV //  
When the movie finally ended, everyone was sleepy. They groggily began to get up from the couch, one by one, collecting their trash as they went. Peter, however, remained resting on Tony. The billionaire couldn’t move, of course, as he didn’t want to wake the sleeping boy. However, after a few minutes, the others noticed and went over to gently wake the sleeping hero. 

Steve walked over first, followed by the rest of the team. Before he came close enough, however, Natasha was sure to take a photo of the two on the couch. ‘oh, I’m never letting Tony live this down,’ she thought to herself, a small smile forming on the edges of her lips. She couldn’t help but ‘aw’, however; this was just simply too precious, even for her. 

“Tony, I think we should wake him. He’ll sleep better in his room, and so will you,” the super soldier said softly, bending down near Peter. He placed a gentle hand on the boy, before ever so softly shaking him in an attempt to pull him out of his sleep. Peter, however, did not wake. Steve tried shaking him a little harder, careful not to hurt the boy, but all he got from Peter was his head lulling to the side, limp on Tony’s chest. That’s when the light cast over his face, allowing for a better view for the others to see him with. Beads of sweat lined the boy’s forehead, and he looked unusually pale. It was as if all the color had been drained from him, and all that was left was his pale structure. The team began murmuring in concern, and even Bruce seemed worried. Steve placed a hand on Peter’s forehead, before saying “he’s burning up”. Nobody knew what to do; everyone was in shock of the sight on the couch before them. 

Tony was the first to speak. “FRIDAY, read Peter’s vitals,” the billionaire said, in a poor attempt to hide the growing panic lacing his voice. They all waited in silence for a moment before the AI spoke up. “Mr. Parker seems to have a fever of 103.4 degrees Fahrenheit, and an unusually slow heart rate,” the Irish female voice rang out. “It is recommended that you get him to the Med Bay immediately.” 

Tony's heart dropped and his breath hitched. Peter was not okay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once the Avengers have been made aware of Peter's condition, they have no clue what to do. One minute they are enjoying a movie as a big happy family, and the next one of their own is slowly dying. Will the team be able to find out what is wrong and fix it before the teen vigilante's time runs out?

The team wasted no time. As quickly and gently as possible, Steve scooped Peter up bridal style off of Tony’s lap. When Tony stood up, there was a visible ring of sweat on his t-shirt from where Peter’s head had been resting. Everyone seemed to notice this, as panic immediately ensued. Steve turned to the door and saw that Bruce had already begun sprinting down to the Med Bay, ringing Doctor Strange on his way. Steve didn’t even have to ask the rest of the team; he began running as fast as possible, Peter in his arms, arm hanging down limply, to the Med Bay. The super soldier passed the scientist on the way, but he didn’t care. Nothing mattered right now besides the teenage hero in his arms. As Steve looked down, he noticed that the neck rim of the boy’s shirt was also drenched in sweat. This only made him run faster.

When he got to the Med Bay, Steve ran over to the nearest bed and placed Peter down as gently as possible. As he turned to look around the room, he watched as a portal opened and Strange stepped out. Just as he hurried over, Bruce entered through the doorway and hastily made his way over to the bed as well.

“What seems to be the issue?” the warlock asked hastily as his cloak slipped off his shoulders and he pulled on a pair of examination gloves. “We don’t know, the team was watching a movie and when it ended we noticed that he was in the condition he is now. We don’t know how long this has been going on, but he never showed any symptoms before the movie, so this is pretty recent,” Steve stated, in a clear state of panic. Soon after, the rest of the team piled in through the doorway, rushing over to Peter’s side.   
“Step back, everyone, I can’t help him if you’re crowding him and in my way,” Strange said, clearly annoyed, as he briskly walked over to the bed Peter rested on. He began examining, and as he did so he asked FRIDAY to tell him Peter’s vitals. When she replied with the same answer as before, however she had a different answer for his temperature. “Mr. Parker’s temperature has now risen from 103.4 degrees to 104.0 degrees Fahrenheit. This has been steadily increasing since around 7 o’clock pm, when the boy was eating dinner.” Strange thanked FRIDAY before rushing over to a drawer at the opposite end of the room. From it he grabbed a syringe and a few other supplies before rushing back to the boy’s side.   
He quickly stuck the needle into the boy’s arm and began drawing blood samples. Meanwhile, Dr. Banner rushed over as well, removing any excess clothing in an attempt to lower the boy’s temperature. The rest of the team decided that it would be best to head outside to the waiting area; although Tony was reluctant at first, Natasha was finally able to convince him to leave the boy’s side. “Come on, Tony, this is what’s best for him. Let the boys do their jobs, they can help him get better,” she said calmly as she guided the billionaire out of the room, arm resting over his shoulders in a comforting fashion.   
After all of the blood samples had been taken, Dr. Strange rushed them across the room and put them into a machine, before telling FRIDAY to run scans of Peter’s blood. They then prepped the boy for a scan, before scanning him for any abnormalities.   
When the results came, however, the two men froze in shock. The AI spoke up,, “it appears Mr. Parker has sustained a form of poison; its epicenter is in his shoulder, but is spreading throughout his body at an alarming rate. The poison seems to be spreading through his blood stream, and according to his blood test results his current blood toxicity is at 24 percent,” FRIDAY paused before continuing. “This poison seems to be most likely caused by some sort of weapon, most likely not from this planet. It would have been lethal, as well, had Mr. Parker’s super strength and accelerated healing factors not come into effect. The AI spoke, with a certain tone of alarm in her voice. It sounded almost human. No, it did sound human.   
Banner knew what to do; he immediately went over to his lab station and began running test results in an attempt to counteract the poison coursing through the boy’s veins. Meanwhile, Strange went out into the common area to deliver the news to the rest of the waiting team.   
When he stepped outside, all heads immediately turned to him. Tony was the first to stand, but the others followed shortly after. The billionaire walked over to the warlock, with a look of… was that fear in his eyes? Strange thought to himself. He couldn’t quite place the man’s emotional state, as he was often hard to read. The doctor decided to put the matter aside for now, as greater things were at risk.   
“How is he? What happened? Will he be okay?” Tony started flooding the man with questions before Strange stopped him with the show of his hand. He sighed before speaking, “it appears that young Mr. Parker has encountered some sort of poison; it entered through his shoulder and has been traveling through his blood stream for what we estimate to be about two and a half hours or so. So far, there is no plan of action, but Bruce is working in the lab to find a counter-reactant for the poison. For now, all we can do is wait and make sure that he remains stabilized.” With every word the man spoke, Tony’s heart dropped. He asked to enter the room to see the boy, and Strange reluctantly agreed.   
When Tony stepped into the room, he couldn’t believe what he saw; one minute the boy was fine, the next he was laying unconscious in his boxers on a hospital bed, multiple IV’s stuck into him and a heart monitor beeping faintly. Stark went over to the boy’s side and pulled a chair up next to the hospital bed. He grasped the teen’s hand in his own, holding it tightly and giving it a light squeeze. He hoped to God that he would receive a squeeze in return, but none came.   
==========  
Stark remained by the boy’s side all night; he tried to sleep, but he just couldn’t, in fear of missing something while he was out. Finally, however, the darkness of sleep overcame him and the man drifted off with his head resting on the bed next to the unconscious teen, whose hand was still clutched in his own. He feared that if he let him go, he would not get him back again.   
At some point, however, Tony was awoken by none other than Bruce Banner. “Tony, I’m gonna need you to move. I believe I may have found something that will work as a counteractant to the poison in Peter’s bloodstream,” Bruce said, in a tone of mixed hope, worry and excitement. This woke Tony up almost immediately; he jumped up onto his feet and stepped back, watching as Bruce and Strange quickly began prepping Peter for the injections.   
There were two different serums; one was in a syringe, and the other was to be inserted through the boy’s IV drip. As Bruce explained, the first serum is to counteract the poison, and the second is to aid it in case Peter’s metabolism was to take over and try to counteract the counteractant. Carefully, Strange put the first liquid into the IV bag, while Bruce grabbed the boy’s arm and carefully inserted the long needle into his inner elbow.   
The three men in the room paused, waiting in silence while FRIDAY ran scans on Peter’s body. Finally, she announced, “the serum has reacted positively to Peter’s immune system. The second one was necessary after all, so it was a good call to make on your part, Dr. Banner,” the AI paused, and the doctor blushed. “the poison is leaving his system, and the boy should be awake in a few hours due to his accelerated healing.”   
The three men sighed in relief, giving high-fives to one another as they cleaned up the leftover mess from the small procedure. Afterwards, Tony went out to deliver the news to the team that Peter was going to be alright. Everyone sighed in relief, before immediately asking if and when they could see the boy.   
Strange allowed them to come in, and they all soon proceeded to crowd around the teen’s bedside. He was beginning to look much better already, as the color was coming back to his face and the beads of sweat were not as prominent anymore as they once were.   
After a few minutes of the team talking to Peter, despite him being asleep, they all got talking. “So, how could this have happened, anyways?” Natasha asked. Strange then mentioned what FRIDAY had told him about her hypothesis of the poison being sustained from some sort of alien tech. The doctor asked the others where the teen might have come across this type of material, but when the only answers he received were shrugs from around the room, the team began to hypothesize. This continued for a good few minutes until Bucky suddenly spoke up: “Wait, didn’t he say something last night about being hit with one of those high-tech weapons?” The soldier thought aloud.   
Everyone in the room seemed to stop dead in their tracks. It all made sense now! “When Peter was hit by one of Toomes’ weapons, he must’ve contracted the poison from it,” Tony said, all of the pieces of the puzzle finally coming together. “Yeah, and last night at dinner he didn’t look too good; I pointed this out to him and asked if he was okay, but he blamed it on his exhaustion,” The ex-assassin stated to the rest of the team. “Well, it’s settled then. That’s where he got this. I mean, it’s the only logical explanation, right?” Clint said, and the rest of the team murmured in agreement. They eventually all pulled up chairs and waited, albeit, impatiently, for the teen to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, 
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! (even though my heart shattered with every line) 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, once again my work is always podfic welcome. 
> 
> I will try to get the third chapter out as soon as possible. Stay tuned! 
> 
> Love y'all to Stark Tower and back ;) <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It was here that, silently and without any recognition, the same memories flooded through each Avengers’ minds. The harsh memories of that night with Peter, the night things had gone so south, that they wished they could all forget. Tony thought of these things, too. Only it was here that he could not bear the weight of it anymore, here that he finally let his emotions run free. And here, on this very couch, in the same spot he had once sat with his kid resting comfortably in his arms, that the tears flowed freely down his cheeks. And without a word, Pepper only pulled her fiancé closer as he wept in her arms, longing for his kid to be okay. And soon all the others shed silent tears as well; for they, too, knew things were not the same. Even Nat and Bucky let the tears slide. But if one were to ask the group if this had occurred, they would all deny it. Nobody spoke of this night again, for all the feelings they needed to communicate weren't shared through words, but their actions. One thing everyone had in common that night was pain."  
> Alternately, the team trying their best to find ways to cope with their circumstances between the tight emotions and unhealthy coping mechanisms circulating around the band of heroes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Small) WARNING:  
> If you are in any way uncomfortable or sensitive to medical topics such as ventilators, tubes, gagging, coughing, wheezing, or anything of the sort, please feel free to skip past this chapter. It is never my intention to trigger anything for anyone, and I completely understand if you are sensitive to this sort of material. (I will say, however, that it does not go into too much gruesome or gory detail. We're all good in that department ;)
> 
> (also) WARNING:  
> This might hurt emotions only certain fanfiction can. You know exactly what I mean. It's pretty much fluff, but also some angst/whump. So if your little fangirl/fanboy heart goes into cardiac arrest reading this because it's just so darn cute and pulls at your heartstrings just the right way, you can't blame me. You got yourself into this! Good luck ;)
> 
> Okay my lovelies, enjoy the final chapter!

The team waited for what seemed to be ages; it had been nearly forty-eight hours and the boy still hadn’t awoken from his coma. The team tried everything to distract themselves, Rhodey even went so far as to try and teach Thor how to play chess. (This was concluded, however, to be a terrible idea after all, which was confirmed after Thor had flipped the table after the Colonel had declared ‘checkmate’ on the Norse god.)  
Tony refused to leave Peter’s room. It had been ages since his last meal, and even longer since his last shower. It was then, after almost fifty-two hours since Peter’s diagnosis, that Natasha finally decided it was time for a change for the weary billionaire. The ex-assassin made up her mind that she would get him out of that room, even if she had to drag him tooth and nail.  
\--------------  
It was nearly midnight when Tony heard a knock on the door. Rather, a gentle rapping of soft knuckles steadily beating against the thick wooden door. “Hey, Tony,” a feminine voice spoke. Tony mentally registered it as Natasha’s, and when he looked up at who had entered his assumptions were confirmed. The redhead came down to sit next to the tired man, placing an unusually gentle hand on his shoulder and the other on his lower thigh as she did so. She paused for a moment, her thumbs gently caressing the billionaire before continuing.  
“Listen, I think it’s time you come upstairs for a bit. There’s nothing you can do for Peter right now, and Bruce and Strange are keeping an exceptionally close eye on him. He’s in good hands, and I think it’s time that you should be, too.”  
Tony was too exhausted to even attempt at a battle against his teammate that he knew he would not win. So, after saying a soft goodbye to his boy, he complied silently, allowing her to gently lead him out of the room and up the elevator to the penthouse.  
Natasha carefully guided him to his suite before handing him off to Pepper, who she had agreed with earlier that the hero’s fiancé would help make sure that he showered before returning to his side once again after the man was done practicing proper hygiene to take him to the common room.  
Once the pair were there, she sat Tony down at the bar in the kitchen and looked over to Steve, who was already preparing the man some eggs. The rest of the team joined the man at the table, trying to keep things as normal as possible given the current circumstances. They knew how much the boy meant to Tony, and understood how hard the whole situation must be for him. So, they figured a distraction might be nice.  
Steve finished the scrambled eggs and placed them on a dish to be given to Tony, along with a cool glass of water (courtesy of Bucky). The remaining heroes took their seats next to the group and continued conversation.  
When Tony’s eggs were finished, the band of heroes carefully guided the tired billionaire over to the large couch in the viewing room. The rest gathered around, sitting all along the comfortable couch, and turned on the TV for a movie night. Pepper came down to join them as well, and took her seat next to Tony, holding him close as she gently combed through his hair. It was here that, silently and without any recognition, the same memories flooded through each Avengers’ minds. The harsh memories of that night with Peter, the night things had gone so south, that they wished they could all forget. Tony thought of these things, too. Only it was here that he could not bear the weight of it anymore, here that he finally let his emotions run free. And here, on this very couch, in the same spot he had once sat with his kid resting comfortably in his arms, that the tears flowed freely down his cheeks. And without a word, Pepper only pulled her fiancé closer as he wept in her arms, longing for his kid to return, to be normal, to be alive. And soon everyone else was shedding silent tears as well, for they, too, knew that things were not the same. Even Natasha and Bucky let the tears slide. God, who knew that one measly teenager could mean so much to a band of heroes?  
But if one were to ask the group if this had occurred, they would quickly deny it. Because nobody spoke of this night again, for all the feelings they needed to communicate were not shared through words, but by their actions. And the one thing everyone had in common that night was pain.  
\------------------  
Finally, three days later, Peter opened his eyes slowly to see a white ceiling with bright lights. It was too bright for him, but he couldn’t find the strength to lift his hands in order to shield his eyes from the strange lights. He tried to speak up instead for FRIDAY to dim them, but found it extremely difficult to do so. First off, his mouth and throat felt like a desert; extremely dry. For second, he came to the realization that there was a strange plastic tube in his mouth. He tried to speak again, and this time he was able to manage a sound. “H-hey… Mr. S-sta-rk,” the teen slowly croaked out, ever so quietly as he looked over to see his fath- no, mentor, by his side. Tony’s head immediately snapped up, and he shouted, “Kid! Oh, my god, you’re alright!” This caused Peter to wince, and it also caught the attention of the other Avengers in the room with them. Their heads snapped up quickly as well, and they all immediately began rushing over to the teen’s bedside.  
As the group crooned over their little spiderling, a flurry of questions were thrown his way; in return, Peter could only groan, his sudden surroundings flooding his senses. He groaned, and quickly the group got the point he was trying to make. “FRIDAY, dim the lights. Initiate Sensory Overload Protocol.” Stark spoke softly into his glasses so as to be sure that the AI would hear him. Everyone paused for a few minutes, so as to allow the boy to take in his surroundings.  
Finally, after a short while, the boy grunted once again, in an attempt to signal to the others that it was okay now to approach him. Tony came up first, followed closely by the others.  
The boy tried to speak, but soon again realized he couldn’t due to the strange foreign object still lodged in his throat. Bruce seemed to realize this too, for he was quick to action in communicating on the boy’s behalf.  
“The ventilator will have to be taken out now that he’s awake and able to breathe on his own. Strange will need to assist me, but it shouldn’t be too hard of a procedure assuming all goes according to plan.” Soon enough, the two intelligent doctors were positioned near Peter’s mouth, hands at the ready, when Dr. Banner began explaining his plan to the boy.  
“Okay, Petey, we’re gonna have to take this tube out. It shouldn’t be too bad, but it will feel like you’re gagging for a brief period of time. Just remember to keep breathing through your nose as normally as you can. Your throat will most likely be sore afterwards, but this should clear up in a couple of days.” Peter tried his best to nod in compliance, before Strange and Banner glanced at each other and nodded before slowly beginning to pull out the tube.  
It took a good half of a minute, but when the tube was finally out Peter gasped for air. He coughed wildly and his breath strained and hitched between the gagging, the soreness, and the sheer dryness of his mouth and throat. Tony quickly approached the heaving boy with a glass of water, a straw sticking out of the top. “Woah, woah, gently,” he cooed softly while Peter sipped the cool liquid, allowing it to fill his mouth graciously and pass down his throat with only minor inconvenience as his breath began returning to him. “That’s it, Underoos, that’s right,” Tony continued cooing in a gentle manner, in his best attempts to calm the distressed boy. Peter continued to sip the water gently as Dr. Banner gently slipped an oxygen cannula over the boy’s head, looping it around his ears and fastening it quickly before swiftly stepping away to let Peter have some breathing room as him and Strange went off to sort the equipment.  
Tony knew full well what to do next; hell, he’d been present for these types of things far more times than he’d like to count.  
“Hey, I need you to try talking, Petey, can you say your name for me, bud?” Tony cooed gently, and Peter took a moment to take in more breath before attempting Tony’s request.  
“Pe-er,” The boy rasped, barely audible over the gentle beeping of the machinery around him. “Good, good, kid. Very good,” Tony applauded calmly.  
The team all gathered around the teenage hero’s bed and greeted him one by one, happy to finally see their boy alive and well. It would take a few days for Peter to return to his completely normal wall-clinging self, but at least this was a start.  
At least their little spiderling was alright. And that was what mattered, because they were one big, happy, (albeit slightly dysfunctional) family once again. 

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats, you've made it to the end. :)
> 
> WOW. Okay, a little bit different! I usually stick to less whump than this, but I really felt it added to the story for this one. Anyways, thanks for sticking around this far! 
> 
> As always, my work is Podfic welcome! 
> 
> I will (most likely) post an epilogue to this story when I get around to it, hopefully as soon as possible. I hope to write it tomorrow and have it posted within the next couple of days. (Don't worry, it'll be fluff! ;)
> 
> Soooo, if you've made it this far, might as well subscribe! I have many, MANY stories on the way, so be on the lookout for new entries! 
> 
> Okay, I think that's all. :))
> 
> Stay safe everyone, love y'all to Stark Tower and back ;) <3


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And so there they sat, Tony’s son in his arms, in the large hospital bed watching their favorite movie once again. Only this time, nothing was wrong. Everyone was safe now. And that was the last thought that ran through the billionaire’s mind before he, too, succumbed to sleep.   
> This was nice.   
> And he wouldn’t trade it for the world."  
> \---  
> Or, Peter's recovery. Sprinkled with a whole lot of fluff and even more Irondad.   
> Maybe Tony Stark does have a heart, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, 
> 
> This is just the epilogue I promised to the completed work. 
> 
> As always, my work is Podfic welcome!
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this one, and oh my goodness! The FLUFF!
> 
> Alright, enough said. Enjoy :)

It had been a couple of days since Peter had awoken from his coma, and although he was on the road to recovery it would still take some time before he returned to his full self again. Currently, Peter had just woken up from a nap and his shoulder was in a lot of pain. This was the usual now, as his wound from where the alien tech had stricken him still wasn’t fully healed yet. Bruce, of course, was on top of things: he swiftly left to get some of the special medication for enhanced humans (Peter’s metabolism was even faster than Cap’s and although he was ill it still showed no sign of slowing). The scientist returned shortly after, bottle in hand, and began feeding some into a syringe for the boy.   
Meanwhile, Tony sat beside his kid on a large, comfy chair. He had barely moved from this spot since Peter had awoken and had absolutely no intention of doing so anytime soon. Although he would never admit it, Tony cared for the boy deeply. He internally blamed himself for Peter’s poisoning, and from the moment they found out about the spiderling’s condition he had been running through countless ideas and formulas in his mind for Peter’s suit, ones that would ensure that an incident like this never happened again.   
“Okay, Petey, just a little pinch and you’ll feel better,” Dr. Banner said as he approached the boy calmly, a slightly cheery tone in his voice. “Yeah, that’s what you said last time,” Peter said in a joking tone, albeit a pained one. “Well, only a few more days and your feet will be back on those walls and swinging around the city once again,” Banner retorted, matching Peter’s lighthearted manner. “Oh, and maybe don’t go searching for alien weapons next time.” Peter let out a pained laugh, the strain of his hitched voice giving away just how much he needed the pain meds.   
Banner carefully grabbed Peter’s good elbow and positioned it so that the inner elbow faced outwards, up and towards him. He then slowly stuck the needle in before gently pushing the odd liquid inside with the applicator. When he was done, the doctor removed the applicator and placed it on a tray beside the hospital bed. Peter sighed in relief as his body took in the medication, the pain slowly dwindling away until he fell into a gentle sleep.   
“He’s probably going to be loopy for a while after he wakes up, I upped the dosage by 0.5 milligrams. So, just be sure to give the boy some lenience when he wakes.” Banner said, his attention directed towards Stark, who just hummed in understanding. The scientist stood there, staring at the billionaire for one more moment before exiting the room, tray with empty syringe and medicine bottle in hand. ‘God, he really does love that kid,’ Banner thought to himself as he left the room, a soft smile forming at the corners of his mouth as he gently shook his head.   
\------------------   
A few hours passed before Peter awoke once again, and by then the aging billionaire was also passed out, chin resting on his hand as he sat comfortably in his chair.   
“H-hey, Mis’ser S-ark,” the young spider said, his words slurred, a smug grin on his face. The boy reached over and tapped the man’s shoulder to wake him up. He must’ve succeeded, for the man opened his eyes slowly before responding. “Hey, Pete, what’cha doing?”   
“Oh, nothing, Mis’ser S’ark. H-hey, did you know that I got poisoned?” The boy said, a sudden wonder in his eyes as he brought up the seemingly unknown topic.   
“Yeah, kid, I did,” the billionaire responded, rubbing his eyes. “Tha’s so cool,” Peter said, leaning back against his pillow while still looking at the older man. “Ya know, kid, most people wouldn’t find something like that cool. They’d find it terrifying,” Tony retorted, a snort leaving his mouth involuntarily at the sheer humor in the boy’s words. “Y-yeah, but I’m special, Mis’ser S’ark. Did you know that?” The kid leaned in closer, his expression turning serious before continuing. He glanced around the room, as though to make sure no one else was listening before he carefully whispered, “I have a se’ret, Mis’ser S’ark.”   
“Oh yeah, and what’s that, kid?” the billionaire asked, matching the tone of Peter’s voice and leaning in as well. The kid’s eyes went impossibly wider. “You ‘ave to promise not to tell anyone, it’s a really big se’ret.”   
“I won’t tell anyone, kid, I promise,” the billionaire whispered back. Peter sighed, then continued, his voice dropping impossibly lower. “I’m Spi’er-Man,” the kid said, eyes wide with wonder. “Yeah, I know, kid, I made your suit.” Tony said, a soft smile curling around his lips.   
Peter looked shocked. ‘What, no way, really?!” He retorted, in a state of pure and complete awe. “Yes, really, Underoos.” Tony said, his smile now on full view. “Now scooch over so I can join you.” Tony shooed Peter over to the edge of the large bed with a quick gesture of his hands and Peter obliged quickly, not breaking eye contact as he did so. Tony laid down beside Peter and pulled the covers over his kid.   
“FRIDAY, would you please put on ‘Empire Strikes Back’? Thanks,” Tony said aloud, and the large flat screen TV in front of them lit up to reveal the movie he had requested.   
“What? You like that movie too? No way!” Peter said aloud, his voice rising as he looked at his mentor with wide, gleaming eyes. Tony just smiled as he directed his attention towards the screen in front of them.   
\------------------   
A few minutes in, Peter began to doze off again. His head now rested on Tony’s shoulder as he took deep, long, peaceful breaths of air. Just before he completely slipped under consciousness, he began to mumble something that Tony couldn’t quite understand.   
“What was that, kid?” he asked quietly. Peter spoke again, this time projecting his sleepy voice a little louder.   
“I love, you, dad.” Was what Tony could make out. The man knew that Peter was barely conscious, he knew that Peter wasn’t making any sense right now. And he knew that Peter probably wouldn’t remember these events, either. But, he responded anyways.   
“I love you too, son,” the man spoke softly, his gentle voice just enough for Peter to hear.   
And so there they sat, Tony’s son in his arms, in the large hospital bed watching their favorite movie once again. Only this time, nothing was wrong. Everyone was safe now. And that was the last thought that ran through the billionaire’s mind before he, too, succumbed to sleep.   
This was nice.   
And he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I'm not crying, you're crying! 
> 
> Ahh but seriously, what monster would I be if I didn't include a happy ending. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading this, please let me know in the comments what you thought, as well as any potential suggestions or prompts you would like me to use for a podfic in the future! (I will, of course, give you credit!)
> 
> Thank you so much for taking your time to read my work, I will try to have more out as soon as possible. 
> 
> Stay safe, my lovelies! Love y'all to Stark Tower and back <3 ;)
> 
> (also YES, thats my new catch phrase haha. get used to it. Anyways love youuu!)


End file.
